This invention relates to a pointing device for rapid movement control of a visible cursor on a single axis on a display screen and, more particularly to a pointing device which includes two additional inhibit control keys for use with an interactive display oriented computer system to respectively clear the displacement signal on the axis X or the axis Y so as to let the visible cursor rapidly complete the movement on the other free axis.
Regular pointing devices, such as optical mouses or digitizers, are for use with computer system to provide movement for a visible cursor from position to position on a display screen of such a system.
In spplication, it is rather difficult by means of regular point devices to draw a straight line along the axis X or the axis Y or to draw an axial line. If to drive the mouse with a hand to draw a line directly, it will take much time to complete, and because the hand may be not very stable, the position deviation may exist. In this case, the common method is to stop hand driving and to use a special function key on the mouse for coordinate positioning at a preselected target point and then to press on another functional key to connect the line. According to this method, one should have to operate one and more function keys while the original function is temporarily stopped. Further, it is not very easy to set a target point on a coordinate. If any error in setting of target point, the deviation of line should be eliminated and the process should be repeated again. It is also very difficult to find the original initiation position when to return to hand drawing function.
In order to solve the said problems, the present invention provides special function key with the mouse to control quick movement of the visible cursor along a single axis on a display screen. For example, under a hand drawing function, when to drive a cursor to move along vertical direction (axis Y), it is simply to press on an inhibit key of INH-Y to allow the cursor be driven to rapidly move upward or downward (axis Y). If the moving track of the mouse is inclined or becomes tortuous due to vibration of the hand or control error, because all horizontal deviation (axis X) of the mouse will be cleared by the microprocessor during the operation and only the vertical (axis Y) displacement signal is set to the main processor, when the computer receives any signal, it will determine that the mouse is exclusively for vertical (axis Y) displacement, and the cursor will be accurately driven to move along vertical (axis Y) direction.